Bomb dropper



. F. J. HOOVEN BOMB DROPPER Filed March '1 1941 2 Shets-Sheet 1 INVENTQR 'Fedenr/(Jf/mwn ATTORNEY BOMB DROPPER Filed larch 1, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 26, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE 30131221; ....fZZfi;";;f;$I?I;I;2123331....

. 7 Claims. iollas-ns) This invention relates to bomb dropping mechanisms and'more particularly to mechanisms for dropping bombs from aircraft under control of electrical means.

An object of the invention is to improve bomb dropping mechanisms.

Another object is to improve the means whereby bomb shackles may be actuated in rapid succession by electrical means in order to drop bombs individually or in groups oi a predetermined number at spaced time intervals.

A further object is to improve the means {or releasing bombs from aircraft in either armed or safe condition. I

Another object is to reduce the weight and cost of bomb release mechanisms.

A further object is to improve the safety of operation of bomb droppingsystems and mechanisms.

A still further object is to provide a removable bomb dropping actuating mechanism.

Other objects of the inventicnwil-l be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings taken in connection with the appended claims. v

The invention comprises the features or construction, combination of elements, arrangement oi! parts, and methods of manufacture and-operation referred to above or which will be brought out and exemplified in the disclosure hereinafter set forth, including the illustrations inthe =drawings. In the drawings:

Figure '1 is 'a side view of a bomb dropping actuator mechanism embodying features of the a present invention, with the cover removed to show the mechanism in cocked position:

Figure 2 is a "circuit diagram illustrating preierred circuit connections fora tier of bomb release control mechanisms;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary diagram showing the normal operating connection between the actuatedarms oi. the bomb release control mechanism and a bomb shackle iromwhich a bomb issupv portedi am projecting from the top of the bomb shackle. A secondarm projecting from the top of the bomb shackle controls a hook for engaging; the arming wire of a bomb so that the bomb may be dropped in either the armed. 0r unarmed condition. The shackle is. ordinarily attached to the bomb before ioading it into the aircraft and bombis then hoisted into position by means of the shackle, the shackle then being hung .on snaflle hooks. bombs are ordinarily supported in the aircraft in tiers in which several bombs are supported dne'above other from individual bomb shackles.

Heretoiore the arming arm and releasing arm of the bomb shackles havebeen controlled me,- chanlcally by the bombardier by'asystem oi levers which engage the shacklewarms. In some cases electromagnetic means a has been .used wherein the shackle arms were controlled by strong solenoids." 1

While a preferred embodiment of theiinven tion is described herein, it. is contemplated that considerable variation may bemade in the method of procedure and the construction of'parts without departing from the spirit of the invention. In the i'olloiving description and inflthe claims, parts will be identified =by specific names for convenience, but they are intended to be .as generic'inftheir application to similar parts as the art willpermit. V 7

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a bomb dropping control mechanism in a box ei-li having a pair of external levers =|.I and 13 :provided with channel-shapedends x13 and Utrespectively for engaging releasing arm and 1am:- ing arm respectively r .a bomb shackle carryin a bomb. Control box it] contains a system of power-multiplying levers associated with: levers H and I! and adapted to actuate said levers under control of an electrically operated solenoid fiiaswillbe desoribed more in detail later. Controlboxiflalsocontains asystem of electric contacts under control :of the solenoid .and the levers for transferring .the control of :theelectric control circuit to a succeeding :bomb :dropping con- 'trol mechanism aiter -.a given mechanism has operated. The electric contacts also control the circuits for tell-tale lamps located in the bombardiers compartment to indicate .the condition be dropped in'unarmed condition. is supported from snaffle hooks 34 in the aircraft.

bombs. In this circuit energy is supplied from a battery l6 for actuating the bomb dropping control mechanisms under control of a normally open switch H in the bombardiers compartment.

' The actuating circuit for controlling the release] tem of power multiplying levers whereby the relatively weak pull of solenoid I may be'utilized to control levers H and I2 which must be actu-.

ated with the strong force necessary to perform their required functions. When the device is in cocked position as shown in Figure l arming releasing the associated bomb in the armed con.-

' downward against the restraint of hook 49.

dition. Actuation of the mechanism to release the bomb results in a transferof contact 1-9 out.

of engagement with contact and into engagement with contact 2| thereby connecting the energizing circuitthrough conductor 22 to thenext. higher control box lb of the tier. Thistransfer does not occur, however, until solenoid Ilia re-' leasesdue to an opening of: the contacts Of'SWltOh l1 and hence only one bomb is released foreach actuation of switch r i 1 l. Prior to actuation oi mechanism 16a to release itsbomb', contacts23; 24 within the box are also v closed therebycompleting an' energizing circuit trol mechanism ||Ia contacts 23,124 are opened thereby extinguishing lamp 39a, andindicating to the bombardier thatthe bomb-has been released from that position.

' .Flgure 3 illustrates the relat onship between the release controluleversv andv 1210f the bomb release control box mechanism and-release arm and armingarmx26 andi21 respectivelyof a bomb shackle28gsupporting a;,bomb 29 by hooks 3|. Hooks 3|. are controlled by bomb release-arm 26 under control of lever Arming arm 2130f the bomb shackle un'der' control of lever l2, con.- trols a. projection 32' adapted to pull out arming wire 33. of the bomb when arming arm 21 has been actuated'beforethebomb is dropped. This results in the bomb being droppedin; armed condition. Should arming lever 21. remain unactu ated as illustratedin Figure3 the bomb would Shackle 28 Referring now to the mechanical details of the bomb :release control box l9 and its associated mechanism illustrated in'Figure v1 incocked po-, sition and in Figures 4 and 5 in released position the .box ||I may comprise a die casting of light metal to which a removable cover (not shown) may be attached. Bomb release lever and arming lever l2 are secured respectively to shafts '35 and 36 .pivoted in integrally cast bearings 31 and 38, Figure 5, respectively in-the wall of box l0. Inside the'box a latch lever 39 is secured to shaftjixanda latch lever 49 to a shaft 36. A sear"4| is pivoted on a bolt 42 so as to swing lever I2 is at the right-hand end of its travel and hence its associated latch lever 46 within box i0 is raised to a position where its latching .end.48 is-latched with the'hook 49 on the end of ,"solenoid-control lever 45. A safety pin type spring 56 having one end attached to box I6 and the other end to lever 40 urges lever 46 Lever 4|] carries an eccentric pin and sear 4| has attached to it a hairpin loop spring 52 doubled around pin 5|. This places sear 4| under control. of lever 49 through the resilient connection furnished by spring 52 and hencein the path of travel of latch lever 39 so thatwhen lever 39 is raised to the cooked po ition its latching end 54 rests on latching edge 53 thereby holding lever 39 in latched position. Strong safety pin type spring 55 attached at one end to box lll and at the other end to latch lever 39 urges lever 39 downward against the restraint of latching edge 53.- n

Contact springs I9, 26, 2|, 23, and 24. which control the circuit for; solenoid-l5. and for the tell-tale lamp'36 are clamped ina stackassem bly 56 within box ID. A switch actuating arm 5.! ofinsulating material such as laminated Bakelite is also pivoted on bolt 46 which supports solenoid operated lever 45. Arm 5'|,carries a projection 58 which engages the free end of contact spring I9. Spring I9 is braced to normally'engage adjacentcontact spring 2| for connecting the control circuit-to thesucceeding bomb dropplugmechanism., Arm 5'l carries a pin 59 which isv engaged by latch arm- ,39 when it is raised to cockedposition thereby rotating arm 51 in a clockwise direction (as shown in Figure l) to press contact spring I9 into contact with spring in and out of latching engagement with latch arm39. 1 Solenoid l5 .ismountedjhorizontally near the top of the boxas' shown in. the-figures and has 20 therebyconnecting solenoid IE to the control circuit Bakelite. arm 51 also carries a pin 66 which is engagedby solenoid controlled lever 45 when-the solenoid pulls up its'armature so that spring |9;-is also held in contact with spring 20 whenever solenoid I5 is actuated. I

Lever 39 also carries a small insulated arm 6| on its lower edge. When lever 39 is cocked arm 6| presses contact spring 24 into contact with spring 23 thereby closing the circuit for tell-tale lamp 30 ..;When lever 39 is released springs 23 and 241sep'arate and extinguish the lamp." f n The box Ill is preferably made'readily removable from the aircraft" to which it may beattached by bolts or other suitable securing means. The circuit connections for the solenoid and contact springs are made through a plug 1| having a series of contact prongs "corresponding to the individual circuitconductors.

which plug 1| fits to complete the circuit ofjFig urea I Assuming the mechanism to be in cocked position as shown in Figure ,1 the armedrelease of the bomb is efiected as follows, reference also being made to the other figuresof the drawings. Upon closure of' switch I! (Eigure- 2);-by the bombardierenergiz'ing current is supplied to solenoid l5 Irombatteryfi through closed contacts I9, 20,

The aircraft is provided with a corresponding receptacle into aasavoo The solenoid armature 43 is pulled up thereby rotating latch lever 45 in a clockwise direction to unlatch lever ll. Lever u is rapidly moved downward by spring 50 and arming lever 12, connected to it, is thereby moved to armed position. As seen in Figure 3 lever i1 thus moves arm 2'! of the bomb shackle so as to introduce hook 32 under the arming wire 83 to pull outv wire 33 and arm the bomb 2! when it tells.

when the lever is dropped under control of spring 50 .it also moves sear II to the rightias seen in Figure 1) by means at hairpin spring link 52. This moves shoulder. from under the latch end-5i oi armIQ-allowing arm as to be rapidly moved downward under the force. of heavy spri t 55. Bomb dropping control arm II, connected to the same shalt as lever 39, is thereby moved to bomb dropping position. This moves arm 26 on'the bomb shack1e-(Figure 3) to cause hooks 3! to release and drop bomb 29.

-When lever 39 is latched up it engages pin 59 on Bakelite arm 51 to holdprojection 58 of arm 51 against spring l9- and therebyhold contacts I! and together as already mentioned. When. solenoid I i pulls. up its armature thus rotating in the bombardlers compartment is again opened,

however, to de -energize the solenoidcircuit. and releasethe solenoid armature, Bakelite arm 51' is allowed to rotate counter-clockwise and permit contact spring l8 to spring away from contact 2 0 and into contact, with contact it. This opens. the circuit for solenoid I5 andcloses a circuit, through to the. solenoid oi the next higher control box of the tier as explained in connection"w,ith Figure 2. Release of arm 38 likewise. results in the opening of contacts 23,, 2t thereby extinguishing the associated. pilotlamp 30.

It is necessary that means be provided for dropping the bombs in unarmed condition should the aircraft. return to. its base. without having used its full loadfoi bombs since it is dangerous to land theaircraft' with bombs remaining in therack. For this purpcse a disarming arm 52 is provided pivoted on a bolt 63 in box). Arm 62 has attached to it a. tongue 64 projectingout of box M where it is engaged, when the box is mounted in the aircraft, bya receptacle. in the aircraft having a mechanical means connected to theboinbardier compartment for rotating tongue 6 in a clockwise "or counter-clockwise direction. Ann 62 carries a pin 65 near its end, the pin being positioned in the space between. a pair of fingets $6 and 61 projecting from the free end of sear I. This permits freedom of motion of sear 4| into and out 01 latching position without interlerence from pin 65.

If arm 62 is rotated 20 degrees or so in a clockwise direction (as seen in Figure 1) pin- 85 is brought into abutment with finger 66 on sear H thereby preventing, sear 4| from releasing lever 39 and hence positively preventing the bomb from being dropped. This is. safe position. Should cam 62 be rotated in a. counter-clockwise direction (as seen in Figure 1) pin. 55 will engage finger 51 thereby moving sear 4| out of latch ing' position and allowing lever 38 to drop resulting in the unarmed release of the. bomb.

Arm 62 also has a cam surface 88 having a notch 68 therein. With arm 81 in nonnalposition (as shown in Figure I) notch 89 is directly opposite to plunger II on the end of the armature 43 of solenoid l5. Whenever the solenoid operates plunger 10 travels into notch 89. If cam I2 is turned in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, however, to place the mechanism in safe position, or to efiect the unarmed release of the bomb, notch i9 is moved out of register with the end of plunger II and cam surface 68 is moved opposite the end of theplunger thereby effectively preventing operation of the solenoid armature should the solenoid become energized. Hence in either position the arming lever is held cocked and the relcase of a bombin arm condipresent invention provides a means for the. use

of the energy in the five-pound spring to release the latch which holds the twenty-flve poimd spring, thus saving the weight *ofa large electromagnet which would otherwisebe required 101' this purpose. In. an actual. practical embodiment of the invention the necessary mechanismineluding the.-housing,. associated springs "and latches, electrical conductors, wiringand switches weighs only two pounds seven. ouncesas compared to two. pounds twelve ounces for the. electifomagnetv alone used with previous devices for releasing the release arm.

Switch. ll may be a manually controlled switch or one. controlled by an automatic timing device capable of producing any desired number of impulses per second such as from 2. to-ZO circuit closures per secondto thereby efiect release of a corresponding, number of bombs at closely.

spaced intervals.

Because of the large solenoids previously re quired to release the heavily loaded releasing arm latch. a. relatively long time delayhas been required to build up the current sufiiciently: to .actuate. the release and. another relatively. long time has been required for the return springto; return the heavy armature, to theopen position.

for the purpose of switching the circuit. over to the next bomb release mechanism. This has.

solenoid isv the lowcurrent"requirements, the

small. solenoid requiring only one and one-half or. two amperesat twenty-four volts instead of eleven to fliteen amperes previously required This enables the: use of cheaper and 'w-ir ing and imposes less severe service upon the battery and the control contacts.

The interlocking control of the spring contacts effected by arm 51 also makes possible a simplificationas well as an improvement in performance over devices previously used in which a separate switch has been attached to the releasing arm and to its associated solenoid. The simplification resides in the use of one switch instead of two, while the improvement resides in the fact that if 30 bomb stations are used on one aeroplane the current for the last station to operate must pass through the contacts of the previously operated 29 stations, "In the past this has meant 58. pairs of contacts. The present invention reduces this number'to 29 pairs.

The operation of the device isalso speeded by the arrangement for holding contacts I9, 20 operated. Thus when solenoid I5 operates it-is not required to overcome'the spring force of contact spring 19 since lever 39 at that time is engaging arm- 51. After lever39 has been released, however, and solenoid I5 releases the spring force of contact spring I9 aids in rapidly moving the solenoid and armature to normal position.

- While the present invention, as'to its objects and advantages, has been descrlbed'herein as carried out in specific embodiments thereof, it isnot desired to be limited thereby but it is intended to cover the invention broadly within the spiritand scope of the'appended claims.

a .What is claimed is: l. 'A bomb dropping control mechanism comprising an electromagnet having an armature, a first latch controlled by said armature, a first lever latched thereby and releasable responsive to operation of said armature, an arming control arm for a bomb secured to said lever and a first spring urging said first lever. and arming control I arm to "armed position against the restraint of said latch, a scar, a second lever latched thereby, a release control arm for said bomb secured to said second lever, and a second spring stronger than said first spring urging said second lever and release control arm to released position against the restraint of said sear, and means for releasing said second lever from said sear responsive to the travel of said first lever from latched position.

2. A bomb dropping control mechanism comprising an electromagnet having an armature, a first latch controlled by said armature, a first lever latched thereby and releasable responsive to operation of said armature,an arming control arm for a bomb secured to said lever, and a first spring urging said first lever andarming control arm to armed position against the restraint of said latch, a scar, a second lever latched thereby, a release control arm for said bomb secured to said second lever, and a second spring stronger than said first spring urging said second lever' and release control arm to released position against the restraint of said sear, andmeans for releasing said second lever from said sear responsive to the travel of said first lever from latched position, and an independently controlled operating lever for tripping said sear independently of said electromagnet and first lever, thereby to release said bomb in unarmed condition.

3. ,A bomb dropping control mechanism. comprising an electromagnet having an armature, a first latch controlled byisaid armature, a first lever latched thereby and releasableresponsive tooperation of said armature, an arming control arm for a bomb secured to said lever, and a first spring urging said first lever and arming control arm to-farmedfposition against the restraint of said latch, a sear, a second lever latched thereby, a release control arm for said bomb secured to said second lever, and a second spring stronger than said first spring urging said second lever and release control arm to-released" position against the restraint of said sear, and means for. releasing said second lever from said sear responsive to the travel of said first lever from ltached position, and an independently controlled lever for'lockingsaid 'sear and electromagnet armature, thereby to prevent arming or release of said bomb.

4..A bomb dropping control mechanism comprising an electromagnet having an armature, a first latch controlledby said armature, a first lever latched thereby and releasable responsive to operation of said armature, an arming control arm for a bomb secured to said lever, and a first spring urging said first lever and arming control arm to armed position against the restraint of said latch, a sear, a second lever latched thereby, a release control arm for said bomb secured to said second lever, and a second spring stronger than said first spring urging said second lever and releasecontrol arm to released" position against the restraint of said sear, and means for releasing said second lever from said sear responsive to the travel of said first lever from latched position, and an independently controlled, lever having a neutral position, a safe position and a releasef position, said lever having shoulders thereon and said sear and electromagnet having cooperating abutments for locking said sear and electromagnet armature when said lever is in safe" position, thereby to prevent arming or release of said bomb, and said sear having a second abutment engaged by one of the shoulders independently controlled lever is moved to re lease position, thereby to release said bomb in unarmed condition.

5. A bomb dropping mechanism comprising an electromagnet having an armature, a first latch controlled by said armature,'a first spring-pressed arm latched thereby, a sear, a second springpressed arm latched thereby, and means connecting said first spring-pressed arm and said sear to release said sear responsive to the spring.- driven travel of said first arm upon release thereof, the spring of said second spring-pressed arm being stronger than the spring of, said first arm, an arming lever pivoted to rotate with said first arm for preparing the arming mechanism for a bomb during the spring-driven travel of said first arm from latched position and a release control leverpivoted to rotate with said second arm for effecting the release of a bomb during the spring driven travel of said second arm from latched position, and mechanical means for tripping said sear while said first arm remains latched, thereby to release said bomb in unarmed condition, said means including astop movable into the path of said electromagnet-armature for positively preventing operation of said armature.

6. A bomb dropping control mechanism com-,

prisin an 'electro-magnet'having an armature, a first latch controlled by said armature, a first spring-pressed arm latched thereby, a sear, a

the spring-driven travel of said first arm upon release thereof, the spring of said second springpressed arm being stronger than the spring of said first arm, an arming lever pivoted to rotate with said first arm for preparing the arming mechanism for a bomb during the spring-driven travel of said first arm from latched position and a release control lever pivoted to rotate with said second arm for eflecting the release of a bomb during the spring-driven travel of said second arm from latched position.

7. A bomb dropping control mechanism comprising an electromagnet having an armature, a first latch controlled by saidv armature, a first spring-pressed arm latched thereby, a sear, a second spring-pressed arm latched thereby, and means connecting said first spring-pressed arm and said sear to release said sear responsive to the spring-driven travel of said first arm upon release thereof, the spring of said second springpressed arm being stronger than the spring of said first arm, an arming lever pivoted to rotate with said first arm for preparing the arming mechanism for a bomb during the spring-driven travel of said first-arm fromlatched position and a release control lever pivoting to rotate with said second arm for eflecting the release of a bomb during the spring-driven travel of said second arm from latched position, and mechanical means for tripping said sear while said first arm remains latched, thereby to release said bomb in unarmed condition.

FREDERICK J. HOOVEN. 

